Imagine how difficult it must have been to sell the first telephone.  The sales pitch might have gone something like this: Alexander Graham Bell:  “Do you want to buy a telephone?” First Customer:  “What’s a telephone?” Alexander Graham Bell: 
“It’s a thing that you can use to call other people.” First Customer:  “Does anyone else own...

As a controller in the 1980’s, my Plant Manager often called me a “creative accountant”.  That’s because I had a knack for getting the monthly actual cost to match the budget most every month.  Without breaking any laws or regulations, I simply learned how to use accrual accounts and inventory reserves to keep the corporate...

There is a test that doctors used in years past to determine if a mental patient was ready for release from the asylum. If your organization has had a headcount reduction in recent years, you may need to take the same test. The test goes as follows: The patient is brought into a small room...

One of the traits of a successful football team is its ability to change the game plan at halftime. NFL football teams are given 12 minutes between halves to analyze the 1st half results, devise an improved strategy for the 2nd half and communicate the revised plan to the team. For example, here’s a breakdown...

How long would it take to build a house if you were given unlimited resources? If you have ever attended a Stephen Covey “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” workshop, you know that the answer is a mere 2 hours and 45 minutes. While it will take you longer than 3 hours to successfully build...

The mission of ICMS, Inc. is to make new things familiar and familiar things new. To make Activity Based Management more familiar, ICMS uses a simple spreadsheet format for our training, books and software. To make familiar things new for you, we use bi-weekly e-mail articles and onsite coaching sessions to challenge the status quo. Many...

Most firms benefit from Activity Based Costing, yet 90 percent of companies studied abandon their ABC systems. This alarming dropout rate is one of the findings published Summer 2001 by Dr. Annie McGowan of Texas A&M University. Her research paper titled “Activity-Based Change Management: A Literature Review” states, “Although activity-based costing models often reveal new...

“Grandpa, how do you get the corn rows so straight?” Even after more than forty years, I still remember his reply. “Tommy, I focus on something at the far end of the field and then plow straight at it.” People and organizations need fixed points of reference. For my grandfather, a tree on the horizon was...

An organization will never surpass the capabilities of its leaders. If your CEO cannot articulate the basic principles of Activity Based Management (ABM), employees will never achieve or sustain activity cost improvement. Leadership ability is always the lid on an organization or individual. “If the leadership is strong, the lid is high.” says John Maxwell....

Using proven principles you can quickly measure what the activities in Access Management are costing – including the rework in other departments caused by inefficiencies in the Registration processes. This article examines how to assess and plan for improvements in Access Management. The ROI, both financially and in customer relations, can be staggering. Background Healthcare...